UPDATED WITH WINNERS!! Congratulations to:

• Maddie – Heat of Tension
• Becky – Talent Show
• Sharry – Rock Flower Solo
• Shauna – Mary Had a Little Lamb
• KT – School Talent Show

I will be emailing the winners shortly! Thanks to all who entered! Be sure to visit the gallery of entries to see everyone’s creative work.

May is typically full of end of school year activities, recitals, talent shows, and the like so we have decided the theme for this month’s reader photo event will be “Lights, Camera, Dolls!!” So, what kind of photos are we looking for this month? Some ideas include photos of your dolls having a talent show, having a concert, putting on a play, performing in a dance recital or reading poetry. Be creative!

In Natalie’s photo  you see Kit (in the black and white outfit from Favorite Friends) introducing Journey Girls Kyla who is getting ready to sing a solo.

The rest of the details:

• Everyone is invited to submit ONE entry per day using the guidelines above.
• ALL DOLLS are encouraged to enter – American Girl, Maplelea, Springfield, Ellowyne, Barbie, Tonner, Bitty Baby, and the list goes on! The more variety the better.
• We will draw 3 entries at random and 2 entries will be picked based on their creativity/excellence to receive an exclusive Doll Diaries Love t-shirt for 18″ dolls OR one for 14-16″ dolls. (Thanks to My Doll’s Life for supplying the white tees so I could make the shirts and the smaller tees I purchased from Mini Me Dolly Divas).
• The event will run from May 11-21, 2012.
• If you are 13 and under you must have your parent’s permission to enter.
• We will only publish photos that are of good quality and appropriate for viewers of all ages.
• Photos MUST BE YOUR OWN – do not take someone else’s photo from somewhere else on the Internet and post it as your own. Doing so will get you banned from all future photo events on this site.
• By submitting your photo, you are granting DollDiaries.com permission to publish the photo along with your first name and the description you provide. We will never publish or share your email address or personal information. You are also granting us permission to use your photo on the DollDiaries Facebook page and/or YouTube channel.

What are you waiting for? Fill out the entry form below:

When you are done, go to the May Photo Gallery to see all the entries (it may take up to 24 hours for entries to appear)! And as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

UPDATED WITH WINNERS!! The winner of the three McKenna books is Christina from http://bigworldandmypower.blogspot.com/. The winner of The Hidden Gold is Jen. The winner of the ISU Behind the Scenes book is Kaylee and the winner of The Smart Girls Guide to Liking Themselves is Agbittybaby.

Summer is almost here and one of my kids’ favorite ways to spend their summer days is curled up with a good book! American Girl thinks that’s a great idea, too.

They sent me a box of American Girl books to use as giveaways to Doll Diaries readers – we will actually have FOUR winners!

So, keep reading to find out what Read-a-palooza is all about, what books we are giving away and how you can enter to win!

About Read-a-palooza

Read-a-palooza is American Girl’s summer reading program they are doing this year in conjunction with the literacy campaign that ties in with the American Girl of The Year for 2012, McKenna Brooks, and her struggles with her schoolwork. From May 1 through September 3, 2012, $1 of every book purchased through American Girl (up to a maximum of $100,000) will support Save the Children’s efforts to raise literacy rates in impoverished communities by providing basic education and equipping schools and teachers with reading materials. In addition, American Girl will make its third donation of books to Save the Children this fall, bringing the value of the company’s total book donation to nearly $1.5 million. Go to www.americangirl.com/reading to:

• Get details about the program
• Download printable bookmarks to keep track of your favorite books all summer
• Find out about in-store events
• Take quizzes
• Print out McKenna’s gymnastics word search
• and help a great cause!

What we are giving away

ONE lucky winner will win all three books in the McKenna collection which includes -McKenna by Mary Casanova, McKenna, Ready to Fly! by Mary Casanova, and Take the Challenge.

ONE lucky winner will win The Hidden Gold: A Marie-Grace Mystery (American Girl Mysteries)by Sarah M Buckey.

ONE lucky winner will win the Innerstar U book Behind the Scenes – a book starring you with more than 20 endings you can pick.

ONE lucky winner will will A Smart Girl’s Guide to Liking Herself – Even on Bad Days.

**Note – the dolls are not part of the giveaway, they just wanted to see what the books were about while showing them off to you!

How to Enter!

• Visit AmericanGirl.com/reading and get acquainted with the program, do a quiz or two and print out some bookmarks or activities.
• Mandatory entry – leave a comment below letting us know what THREE books are you looking forward to reading this summer!
• Get a two bonus entries by posting a photo of your dolls reading books on our Facebook page or on Twitter (be sure to leave a comment here that you posted it so I go see it).
• Get more bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following, but come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it:
  • Post about it on your own blog, in a forum, tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
  • Follow us on Twitter (we are @DollDiaries) – please send us a tweet letting us know you are following us and introduce yourself, too.
  • Like us on Facebook (we are DollDiaries) – again, feel free to leave us a note on Facebook saying hello and that you are entering the giveaway.
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channels (DollDiaries)
  • Follow the DollDiaries board on Pinterest

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight May 14, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winner and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select four (4) winners at random.

In order to make it easy for us to keep questions about the Reader Photo event for May and the entries easy to comment on, I am creating this page separately to show off all the entries in the “Lights, Camera, Dolls!” Reader Photo Event for May. For entry information and the entry form, go to THIS POST and then come back here to see all the entries.

Click on the photos to view them full size and to leave a friendly comment.

UPDATED! Congratulations to our winner – Heather!

The end of the school year is right around the corner and whether you (or someone you know) is graduating from Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, High School or College, it is a big deal! Those are serious milestones! Your doll can help you commemorate the experience or imagine your dreams in a Graduation Cap and Gown for 18″ dolls from My Doll’s Life. And keep reading because we are giving away the Graduation Cap and Gown to one lucky reader, too.

The white Graduation Gown comes down below the knee and has neatly done zipper closure in the front just like the real things! The mortar board cap is fitted and has a tassel your doll can move from one side to the other and then toss it into the air when her graduation ceremony is done! It doesn’t come with the shoes – Calista is wearing the white dress sandals that came with a new friend – more on her later – and I made her diploma scroll by rolling a piece of paper and tying it with ribbon.

So, Calista wants you to enter to win one for your doll!!

What We Are Giving Away

We are giving away one Graduation Gown and Cap for 18″ dolls from My Doll’s Life and made by Sophia’s. The retail value of this prize is $19.95.

How To Enter

• Visit My Doll’s Life and take a look around – they have a huge selection of doll clothes but they also have fun things for girls like doll scenes you can create online and printable paper dolls. Then come back here and leave a comment letting us know what would you like to be when you grow up or if you are already “grown up”, what did you want to be – and are you doing that now?
• Get bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following, but come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it:
  • Post about it on your own blog, in a forum, tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
  • Follow us on Twitter (we are @DollDiaries and My Doll’s Life) – please send us a tweet letting us know you are following us and introduce yourself, too.
  • Like us on Facebook (we are DollDiaries and My Doll’s Life) – again, feel free to leave us a note on Facebook saying hello and that you are entering the giveaway.
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channels (DollDiaries)

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight May 8, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winner and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select one (1) winner at random.

UPDATED with a winner! Congratulations Megan – check your inbox.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to Michael’s on the day they had Springfield Doll things 30% off and had American Girl Crafts 50% off. One of the things I picked up that was just too cute for words is the Petite Party Settings! I picked up more  than one which means I can give one set away to a lucky reader! This is a quick giveaway! You have until Sunday night to enter so be quick!

The Petite Party Settings are what you can see set up on the table in our Happy Birthday Julie photos that I posted earlier this week.  The set includes 4 paper cups, 4 square party plates and 4 placemats. They are all doll-sized and they are paper – just like the girl sized American Girl Crafts Party Pack. I also put in a Mini Sticker Pad with the historical characters – your dolls will love them.

What We Are Giving Away

• One Petite Party Settings set and one mini sticker pad for dolls from American Girl Crafts.

How To Enter

• Mandatory entry – leave a comment below letting me know what makes a party with your dolls a success.
• Get a two bonus entries by posting a photo of your dolls having a party on our Facebook page or on Twitter (be sure to @DollDiaries me so I see it).
• Get more bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following, but come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it:
  • Post about it on your own blog, in a forum, tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
  • Follow us on Twitter (we are @DollDiaries) – please send us a tweet letting us know you are following us and introduce yourself, too.
  • Like us on Facebook (we are DollDiaries) – again, feel free to leave us a note on Facebook saying hello and that you are entering the giveaway.
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channels (DollDiaries)
  • Follow the DollDiaries board on Pinterest

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight May 6, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winner and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select one (1) winner at random.

UPDATED WITH WINNERS!!! Thank you all very much for all your thoughtful and creative entries!! You are the best. Our winners this month are:

• Serena – In Awe of Spring
• Chloe – Relaxation
• Laura – Now That’s Recycling
• Mary Rose – Gran’s Solar Panel
• Lorie Ann – Stop & Smell the Flowers

I will be contacting each of you via email so you can choose whether you want a Doll Diaries t-shirt for 18″ dolls or for 14-16″ dolls.

In order to make it easy for us to keep questions about the Reader Photo event for this month and the entries easy to comment on, I am creating this page separately to show off all the entries in the It’s Only Natural April Reader Photo Event. For entry information and the entry form, go to THIS POST and then come back here to see all the entries.

Click on the photos to view them full size and to leave a friendly comment.

UPDATED WITH WINNER! Congratulations Sue! I will be sending you an email shortly.

You have seen our Ice Cream Shoppe from American Dollhouses being used in our photos since before Christmas when we first reviewed it, and now I am excited to let you know we are giving away the two-room version that has a Barn scene on one side.

This is the outside of the barn – perfect for setting up a scene and playing horses along with your 18″ dolls.

And here are the two “interior rooms.” One room interior features “Splash of Spring” wall design with two windows and the other interior features “Ribbon Blue & Yellow Posies.” These are great for scenes and make excellent backdrops for doll photography, too.

American DollHouses are fully collapsible for easy storage and clean up.  They are light enough for children 8 and older to assemble or put away on their own.  And the fit nicely under a bed, behind a dresser or desk.

Each doll house system comes with two walls and a floor mat.  The walls are made of a light weight durable substrate made in the USA that can handle being assembled and reassembled by children.  The custom watercolor graphics are printed directly to the substrate and can handle gentle cleaning.  You do not need to worry about pealing images or graphics with the quality printing applied directly to the board.

This is very versatile and really does enhance the play time for your daughter and her dolls. So, read below on how to win this for yourself!

WHAT WE ARE GIVING AWAY:

One (1) lucky winner will receive the American Dollhouses Two-Room Doll House with Barn Scene which retails for $95 on the American DollHouses website. (The doll, horse and accessories are not included.)

How To Enter

• Visit American Dollhouses web site and take a look around, then come back here and leave a comment letting us know what type of doll scenes do you like setting up best and which of the American Dollhouses would be the best addition to your doll play.
• Get bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following, but come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it:
  • Post about it on your own blog, in a forum, tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
  • Follow us on Twitter (we are @DollDiaries) – please send us a tweet letting us know you are following us and introduce yourself, too.
  • Like us on Facebook (we are DollDiaries and American Dollhouses) – again, feel free to leave us a note on Facebook saying hello and that you are entering the giveaway.
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channels (DollDiaries)

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight April 14, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winner and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select one (1) winner at random.

UPDATED WITH WINNERS!!! Thank you all very much for all your thoughtful and creative entries!! You are the best. Our winners this month are:

• Serena – In Awe of Spring
• Chloe – Relaxation
• Laura – Now That’s Recycling
• Mary Rose – Gran’s Solar Panel
• Lorie Ann – Stop & Smell the Flowers

I will be contacting each of you via email so you can choose whether you want a Doll Diaries t-shirt for 18″ dolls or for 14-16″ dolls.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 this year so I decided to make the April Reader Photo Contest nature inspired – “It’s Only Natural!” So, what kind of photos are we looking for this month? Some ideas include photos of your dolls celebrating Earth Day, outside enjoying nature, your dolls recycling or something you created for your dolls from recycled materials.

The rest of the details:

• Everyone is invited to submit ONE entry per day using the guidelines above.
• ALL DOLLS are encouraged to enter – American Girl, Maplelea, Springfield, Ellowyne, Barbie, Tonner, Bitty Baby, and the list goes on! The more variety the better.
• We will draw 3 entries at random and 2 entries will be picked based on their creativity/excellence to receive an exclusive Doll Diaries Love t-shirt for 18″ dolls OR one for 14-16″ dolls. (Thanks to My Doll’s Life for supplying the white tees so I could make the shirts and the smaller tees I purchased from Mini Me Dolly Divas).
• The parade will run from April 13 -22, 2012.
• If you are 13 and under you must have your parent’s permission to enter.
• We will only publish photos that are of good quality and appropriate for viewers of all ages.
• By submitting your photo, you are granting DollDiaries.com permission to publish the photo along with your first name and the description you provide. We will never publish or share your email address or personal information. You are also granting us permission to use your photo on the DollDiaries Facebook page and/or YouTube channel.

What are you waiting for? Fill out the entry form below:

When you are done, go to the April Photo Gallery to see all the entries (it may take up to 24 hours for entries to appear)! And as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

UPDATED WITH WINNER!! Congratulations Pretty Irish AG! I have sent you an email.

It’s time for a new giveaway!! We have reviewed outfits from DreamWorld Collection in the past and we absolutely love the quality of their work, so when they asked to sponsor a spring giveaway, of course I knew you all would love it! And wait until you read about the story behind this dress, too.

Isn’t that dress just gorgeous? And the veil is so delicate! It would be perfect as a First Communion gift, a gift for a bride-to-be or flower girl, or just something fancy for your  dolls to dress up in.

First the story of the dress and then I will tell you how you can win this dress for your own!

The Story Behind the Veil

Behind the veil there is usually a bride’s face, but we have an interesting story.  I have a friend that had a bridal boutique and she ordered beautiful veils for the brides.  The only problem was that due to some misunderstanding the veils came way too small for real brides.  She was devastated. The veils were useless for her bridal boutique.  She showed me the veils and said: “Look what they did, those veils are good for dolls but not for real brides!”  And this is how I got the idea.  Why don’t I create an outfit for American Girl Doll to incorporate those veils?

The veils are absolutely gorgeous.  They have beautiful detailed designs made of bids, sequins and pearls.  With a few tiny tweaks I adjusted them to perfectly fit the doll.   This is a one time only opportunity to get this kind of veil.  There are a few slightly different designs and the total quantity is small.  They will never be reproduced for doll clothing simply because they would be way too expensive.  As a result you only have this one chance to enjoy them while they last.

What a great way to take a mistake and make it into something very special!

WHAT WE ARE GIVING AWAY:

One (1) lucky winner will receive the DreamWorld Collection Veil Story Dress which retails for $39.97 (You can buy it from the DreamWorld Collection site or from Amazon).

How To Enter

• Visit DreamWorld Collections web site and take a look around – she has added some great new pieces. Then come back here and leave a comment letting us know which one of your dolls would look best in the Veil Dress and what other outfit from DreamWorld Collections would look good on her, too.
• Get bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following, but come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it:
  • Post about it on your own blog, in a forum, tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook.
  • Follow us on Twitter (we are @DollDiaries) – please send us a tweet letting us know you are following us and introduce yourself, too.
  • Like us on Facebook (we are DollDiaries and DreamWorld Collections) – again, feel free to leave us a note on Facebook saying hello and that you are entering the giveaway.
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channels (DollDiaries)

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight April 13, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winner and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select one (1) winner at random.

UPDATED! Congratulations Sherie N. for your winning entry!!

Matilda is a 16″ doll from A Girl for all Time who is the first in a series of dolls and books that bring English history to life through the eyes of young teens. Matilda’s story is about life in Tudor England where she is convinced nothing exciting will ever happen to her – until one day everything changes!

Matilda the doll is different than many of the play dolls we are used to here in the United States. Not only are her clothes historically accurate, but her facial features reflect the time period she if from right down to her serious, solemn expressions. Her Keepsakes and Secrets book is amazing – with drawings, activities and a good mix of history and present day fun that really bridges history in a way that it makes it relevant to girls of today.

A look at Matilda’s very interesting Family Tree in her activity book. Other activities include recipes, Tudor hairstyles, designing your own gowns for Matilda, and creating jewelry with that Tudor vibe (or feel).

WHAT WE ARE GIVING AWAY:

One (1) lucky winner will receive the A Girl for all Time Matilda doll, her Matilda’s Secret Book and Matilda’s Keepsakes & Secrets activity book as shown in the photo above.

How To Enter – PLEASE READ CLOSELY

In order to enter you must leave ONE comment on this post stating that you are entering.

Visit A Girl for All Time to learn more about Matilda and life in Tudor times.

Then send an EMAIL to share@dolldiaries.com with your answers to the following questions:

1. Matilda is the first doll in the series – name three more time periods in English history that have a doll based on them.
2. What is Matilda’s family name?
3. Life in Tudor times was definitely a little less civilized than what we are used to, what was a common remedy for a sore throat in Matilda’s time?
4. Matilda’s cousin Katherine loved her jewelry – what was her favorite gem stone?

A winner will be selected at RANDOM from the entries that submit all the correct answers. DO NOT POST answers in the comments below, you MUST email them to me.

Rules

• Entries must be received no later than midnight March 29, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winner and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select one (1) winner at random from the entries that contain all the correct answers for the quiz.

There is no requirement to LIKE us on Facebook, but we both share lots of extra photos, information and fun stuff on our Facebook pages that doesn’t always get shared on the site, so you don’t want to miss out!

• Like Doll Diaries on Facebook
• Like A Girl for all Time on Facebook